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Monday, 10 August 2015

A nuclear reactor has been restarted in Japan for the
first time in nearly 2 years.

The No.1 reactor at the Sendai
nuclear plant in southwestern Japan is the first to go back online
under new regulations introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear
accident.

On Tuesday morning, workers at the plant's central
control room operated a lever to pull out the reactor's 32 control
rods. Plant operator Kyushu Electric Power Company says there's been
no trouble so far.

If all goes well, the reactor is due to
achieve a sustained nuclear chain reaction in about 12-and-a-half
hours and begin generating power on Friday. After gradually raising
output, Kyushu Electric plans to begin commercial operations in early
September.

The utility says it will watch carefully for any
abnormalities in equipment operation, as the reactor has been kept
offline for more than 4 years.

The 2-reactor Sendai plant in
Kagoshima Prefecture last year cleared the new, rigorous regulations
introduced after the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
plant. It completed all necessary inspections on Monday.